This hospital nestled in a valley in Afghanistan's central highlands features a sequence of courtyards intended to "foster healing and well-being" that become increasingly more private within the complex. More
This contemporary reinterpretation of a vernacular courtyard house in the Chinese city of Guangzhou features a sequence of living areas and bedrooms arranged around a central pond. More
Local architecture studio Panovscott has modernised a cottage in Sydney by introducing a courtyard that the living spaces and bedrooms all open directly onto. More
Architect Frederic Schnee has modernised and extended a traditional house in Beijing by moving the courtyard onto the first floor so a shop can be accommodated at street level. More
Skylights and large glazed surfaces that open onto a secluded courtyard allow natural light to pour into the interior of this house designed by architects David Liddicoat and Sophie Goldhill for a narrow site in east London. More
Mexican architecture firm TACO has designed the Portico Palmeto studio to act as its headquarters, with pink walls, local materials, and tall shutters that open up the interior to its tropical setting. More
A secluded garden courtyard surrounded by brick buildings forms The Ada and Tamar De Shalit House, a shelter for victims of domestic violence near Tel-Aviv. More
Porthole windows with brightly coloured frames, a soaring spiral staircase and waterfall gutters are among the playful touches MUMA Architects has included in this community centre in Cambridge, England. More
US firm Wittman Estes has added a studio building and a Chinese-inspired courtyard to an existing residence in a dense neighbourhood, aiming to show how to maximise an urban lot. More
Rows of pivoting glass doors can be opened to allow air to flow through living spaces that open onto courtyards, terraces and lush gardens at this house in the Indonesian city of Semarang. More
Brazilian firm Estúdio BRA Arquitetura has designed a compact house for a long and narrow parcel of land, incorporating front and rear courtyards, and a rooftop deck. More
Brazilian studio Terra e Tuma has designed a slender urban home with concrete block walls and rooms organised around two interior courtyards. More
A cluster of cement- and stone-covered volumes conceal a garden of bushy grass, palm trees and colourful plants that architect David Guerra has created at the centre of this house in southeast Brazil. More
Mecanoo's vast law courts in the Spanish city of Córdoba features cut-out courtyards and golden details, in reference to the city's medieval history. More
Traditional Hawaiian hut geometry informed this courtyard house by Johnston Marklee, which comprises four separate volumes grouped beneath a single roof. More
Living spaces at this house in the Indian city of Surat are arranged around a verdant courtyard lined with glass walls that can be retracted to open the interior up to the outdoors. More
Seoul studio Augmented Reality Architects has completed a house in the South Korean city of Gimhae featuring a facade formed of vertical metal poles that shields an interior arranged around a series of courtyard gardens. More
This extension to a house in Taoyuan City, Taiwan, contains independent living spaces for two brothers, which are connected by a glazed corridor that traverses a narrow plant-lined courtyard. More
Nothing blends indoor and outdoor space like a courtyard. This week's roundup of images from Pinterest celebrates some of the best examples, from a Japanese house built around a family's beloved tree, to the open-air courtyard of an apartment block in one of LA's densest neighbourhoods. More
Argentinian firm Besonías Almeida has built a house in Buenos Aires around existing foliage, using board-formed concrete and dark laminated timber panels. More